Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D for short, is a roleplaying game that allows players to inhabit characters in a fantasy setting. They work together to battle monsters, find treasure and tell a shared story in which they’re all the main characters. Youth Services Librarian Jeffrey Wood ran a recent session, guiding a group of young teenagers through an adventure involving a sheep, a dragon made of furniture and a few other creatures.
Precautions Advised To Prevent Respiratory Illnesses During Holidays
COVID-19Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Listen
Share this Article
With COVID-19, the flu, and other respiratory illnesses usually surging in the winter months, West Virginians are advised to take precautions.
“It is so easy to transmit many of these viruses from touching, hugging, being close, in very close proximity to others, so obviously keeping some separation — but also frequent hand washing and or using a hand sanitizer, keeping those out for the whole family to use during the holidays,” Dr. Steven Eshenaur, health officer and executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, said.
Dr. Steven Eshenaur Credit: Kanawha-Charleston Health Department
Eshenaur also emphasized that some are at more risk than others. Generally, newborns and the elderly have weaker immune systems.
“If you’re sick, I know you may want to go hug the new baby, the new niece, the new nephew or new grandchild,” Eshenaur said. “It’s probably best not to do that, to help protect them because of their lack of immunity.”
Eshenaur says while this is the mildest viral year of the last few for Kanawha County, he is concerned about immunization rates remaining low. That could mean a larger outbreak later in the season.
The state last updated its weekly respiratory dashboard Dec. 20. It recorded minimal risk for influenza and a declining weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate. However, medical visits for respiratory symptoms were increasing.
Credit: West Virginia Department of Health
This year, positive influenza tests peaked in March, and positive COVID-19 tests peaked in September, according to the dashboard.
On this West Virginia Morning, we learn about efforts to clean up an important waterway, and examine the impact of prospective food benefit cuts on Appalachians in need.
More than 500,000 West Virginians were enrolled in Medicaid in 2024. Several of them traveled to Washington, D.C. on June 18 to meet with aides for the state’s U.S. senators.
The Supreme Court vacated a decision by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year that the state’s exclusion of gender-affirming surgery under Medicaid violated federal law.
At a board of directors meeting Monday, the West Virginia First Foundation provided updates on grant funding distribution to community groups that address addiction.
